Update on Political life

1969 - 1975

By 1969 I was living in Takapuna and was one of a few Labour members in that area. The North Shore candidate was Don Dugdale. Because Labour was so weak in North Shore, our Electorate Committee was combined with the neighbouring electorate and we met with them. In fact as I remember it only Ian Harris and I were active members. 

1972 was my first year in the Bay of Islands, living in Kawakawa, and our candidate was Richard Hendry. I accompanied him on Friday nights through the Kawakawa shopping centre taking turns haranguing the crowds through the loud-hailer. We were not surprised when National won Hobson; the popular story was that the National Party had only to stand a sheep in Hobson to win. 

At the 1973 Waitangi Day celebrations I watched Norman Kirk and heard him speak. The next day I met him at a Labour Party lunch. We discussed the flagstaff at Waitangi and why the Union Jack was flown from the top of the staff. We had both wondered if this was an old naval custom. The next year the Queen visited and her first gesture to Mr Kirk on her arrival was to present him with a New Zealand flag to be flown from the top of the mast at Waitangi. 

Local Politics 

At the 1974 local body elections I was persuaded to stand for the Paihia Community Council.  The Bay of Islands County had for many years had a handful of small towns operating with town councils: Kerikeri, Russell, Kawakawa, Moerewa, Opua, Paihia and Haruru Falls. In the event I was successful, along with three or four others.  

So during 1975 I was getting to grips with my responsibilities as a town councillor. The other members were Les Eden, who had been around for many years, and knew all about the town, Mark Hatherley, who became a close friend, John Williams, who ran a motel at Te Tii Beach, and Leo Bennett.  

Later in 1975 Les Eden moved over to take up the local seat as a member of the Council proper, and the members elected me to the chair to take his place. John  Pullen, the local bookseller, was appointed by the County Council to fill the vacancy. We all worked together pretty well for the next three years and became good mates. 

Williams and Pullen represented the commercial sectors of the town, while Hatherly, Bennett and I were residents. This was a good balance and we got through a lot of work. 

The first thing we did was build a boat-ramp. The boaties were tired of complaining about delays at the only boat-ramp in the area, the one at Waitangi next to the wharf.

We decided we could organise to have one at the southern end of Te Haumi Bay, the last beach before Paihia proper. So one Saturday morning all the Council members turned up very early at low tide and by 10 o’clock there was a new ramp ready for the boaties. 

Of course, we should have followed the rules – town planning, discussions with the Marine Department and Harbour Board and so on. But DIY won and the last time I looked the ramp was still there. Very naughty!